Good Medicine
by AvengerGal
Summary: Eleven is regenerating. The TARDIS knows just what he needs, and takes him to see his reward before Eleven dies. This trip brings both sadness and satisfaction. (Written before the 50th Anniversary.)
1. Chapter 1

**Written and published before the 50****th**** Anniversary Movie, and before the Christmas special, and that other episode that was mentioned. **

**It is mostly canon, but it's me imagining Clara wasn't there for Eleven's regeneration. I'll have this story as canon as possible, meaning in my storyline, Clara will still have adventures with Twelve, as I know Jenna-Louise Coleman has signed up for the first season of Doctor Who without our dear Matt.**

_**Please keep these things in consideration.**_

**Disclaimer: Has Captain Jack met River Song? Did Donna Noble travel with Nine? No? Then I don't own Doctor Who.**

**Summary: Eleven is regenerating. The TARDIS knows just what he needs, and takes him to see his reward before Eleven dies.**

* * *

The Doctor dropped Clara off at her home as soon as the adventure came to an end. He knew that she had seen something different in him – something wrong, and something ill.

He didn't want to tell her he was dying. She'd feel bad, blaming herself, especially as she knew herself as the girl who saves the Doctor.

Actually, it was not her fault. He allowed her to do it. But that was because it was the only way. She didn't know the power of what that terrible machine would do, but it was definitely fatal. He had lied to her, assuring her that he had a plan, everything would be okay, and to just do it.

The injections went straight to his heart. The Daleks around him had laughed, actually laughed.

"No, I have a plan. I can save myself."

Clara didn't know rule number one: the Doctor lies.

The killing was slow, and it was still happening.

The pain was a somnambulant of the nightmarish adventure. And he tried not to think about it (and thus it will not be written about).

If the new him was anything worth anything, he would come back and take Clara on more adventures. But right now, he couldn't have Clara on his back. She didn't need to know. No, she really didn't.

Dear Clara, he thought as he flew through space in the TARDIS. What a peculiar way of seeing the world she had. _"It's smaller on the outside."_ He chuckled at the memory.

All his companions were precious in their own ways. Dear Donna, Martha, Amy and Rory, and Rose.

Rose. Never a day went by without his thinking of her. Clever, clever Rose. What a compassionate, feminine heart. Gentle and tough at the same time. He could never help but smile when she smiled.

Another spasm of pain hit his left heart. Gritting his teeth, he clutched the console. He tried to ignore it, but each day since the incident and since he dropped off Clara, it only got worse.

He threw himself into his work. Maybe that way he could forget the fact that a new Time Lord would walk in his place very soon. He fixed the chameleon circuit –and regretted it, but luckily he was sure it would break soon anyway. He made a Void Stuff Detector, which he installed onto the console.

He invented a gravity switch, and then threw it to the TARDIS floor, remembering that Louis Pellopter invents it in the year 2069.

Throughout all this he was mad at himself for being so afraid of death and things that grew old. That was the responsibility, the curse, of a Time Lord. It was what he must bear. And that was why only one species had bothered ever to meddle so much with – and be in so much control of – time.

The Doctor grandiosely opened the TARDIS doors. Sitting down, his legs hanging over the edge above God only knows how many kilometers of space, he stared out at the stars and the earth in the distance.

He was wondering what to do next. There were so many people he wanted to see but couldn't before he died. Also, as he contemplated the stars, he thought of the fact that he, in his new body, with his new characteristics and character, but still with his same mind; he would have to look at these stars again. They were beautiful, yes, but it already was "just a backyard", more so because now he was alone. Space, although majestic with its nebulas and cascades as its jewels, had been seen so many times by the same lonely man in all his eons of life. And then it was seen and seen again, and after a while, it becomes something that's just there.

When he could show these wonders to someone, he saw them, too; it was like seeing them for the first time. Not so at the moment.

Again, he had to regenerate alone. Alone, dying, passing away with no one to say goodbye and greet the outcome. But it was better than Clara having to see him now, still sweating from his recent spasm of pain. If the reader had seen their recent adventure, he would understand his impetus and its consequence.

Out of the blue, he heard a noise. It was a noise that he had really not wanted to hear, especially not now. The Void Stuff Detector started bleeping.

"What?! What?! You are _never _supposed to do that. No, no."

He desperately fiddled with the console, not daring to believe. But it was true.

"No, not the end of the world! Not _again_!" In a less intense situation, he would have laughed. But not this time. Another void in time and space? Another crack to a different reality? This was bad – this was very, very bad.

No, he could not laugh now. He was furious.

"Why?!" he kicked the console. Were all his sacrifices in vain? He had lost the girl he longed most for because of a void like this that he had sealed up to save the universe. Rose.

It wasn't fair.

The TARDIS suddenly spun out of control. It was getting sucked into the void! That would kill him with no chance of regeneration. He screamed.

The TARDIS doors, still open from his earlier meditation, revealed that the void stuff was not on its own, but woven through the time vortex. The void, which was devouring the time vortex tunnel, caused fierce lightning to strike the TARDIS. It sucked at everything that was loose in the TARDIS.

All the Doctor could do was grip the metal bars around the console, his feet lifted and his body threatening to be pulled towards the void-vortex. Around him, papers flew out, various books, Barbie dolls, his timey-wimey detector: all had been lying about, and all shot out of the hurtling TARDIS. Out went the gravity switch. (It travelled through the vortex until it landed at the feet of said Mr. Louis Pellopter, in 2069.)

And then, with a thud, everything was still.

The TARDIS had landed.

"Impossible," the Doctor said when he realized he was still alive. He felt and examined himself. Yes, all limbs were there, no broken bones, his head seemed to be intact, and his bowtie just needed to be straightened.

"Now, where am I?" he wondered. He tapped some keys on the console and stared at the screen.

"Okay, so not in the void anymore, eh? That's good news. And I'm on…Earth. Back on Earth."

He frowned. "This doesn't add up."

He tapped a few more keys, checked the screen again, and then –

"Oh. _Oh."_

He raced to the TARDIS doors and flung them open.

"Oh."

He was staring at a world that was known as Earth; that could've been Earth; that practically was Earth – except that it wasn't.

"Impossible," he breathed, "Absolutely incredible."

He had landed in a parallel world, and had done it safely. Although this cued the end of the world, for now he was okay. The TARDIS had landed in an alleyway created by a wall and the back of a small building of some kind, its green paint weathered and faded. He would see what the building was later. It was a cheery afternoon on this parallel earth, and the sky was clear. However, something tugged on his memory. No he hadn't ever seen this place before. Not on The Earth. He tasted the building. It wasn't that either. He then commenced licking his finger and holding it up in the air.

No. It couldn't be.

Sonicking the air, he circled around and raced back to the console. He inputted the results of the sonicking onto the TARDIS, and then did some other spacey-wacey technical stuff. After a bit, his eyes brightened. Immediately he set off for a particular Norway beach of this parallel world.

He ran outside. He sniffed. He rushed back in and landed behind the green building again.

No way.

But it was.

A specific taste, a specific tingle in the air that made this parallel world unique; it made this world special.

"What are the chances?!" he marveled. "What single drop in a billion oceans!"

Hello, Pete's World.


	2. Chapter 2

But he still dared not believe it. It was so incredible, so ridiculously improbable. It was fantastic enough that there was another void that worked as a passage to another dimension in the first place. But that this one specific parallel world, one that he had already been in, out of all the parallel worlds created by all the choices of The Earth?

"There _is _denying it," the Doctor told himself firmly. Who said that only one world's air gave the same tingle.

Well, what to do but explore? He had some time before he had to seal off this world. But when it was time to seal off the world, he would have to do it quickly. He didn't want it to be his fault that the universes collapsed.

He took a good look at this TARDIS.

It had disguised itself as a tall, gnarly, tree. It appeared to be growing out of the cracked cement ground.

"Hmph. Well, I've got to say it's brilliant…_but I don't like it_. Oh well, I guess I've only got myself to blame. Also, I've got to make sure I don't lose the location of the door."

He walked up to the front of the small green building. "Mary's Flower Shop" read the sign. Then, now that his view of the area wasn't restricted as it was earlier between the wall and the back of the shop, he took a good look around. The TARDIS had landed him in a small town, the kind where everyone knew everyone and everything. Strangers were noticed.

He stepped inside.

It was a small shop, and looked like any old flower shop he'd find on The Earth. A sign told him that the shop made deliveries. The scent from the rows and shelves of flowers greeted him instantly. A woman, who appeared to be in her late sixties, with curly gray hair, looked up from the counter, and smiled.

"Hello."

"Hello, I'm the Doctor," he greeted her. "You're Mary, I presume?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Wonderful flower shop you have. I love flower shops. I like flowers, they're nice. Don't bite. Well, some of them do. But not here; not these ones," he reassured her.

"Well that's…good to know, dear," she answered him good-naturedly. "Now what can I get for you?"

"Oh, nothing, just look – aah!" he winced involuntarily. It was his left heart again. Gemini creepers it hurt.

"Oh, dear – my dear, are you alright?" She hurried up to him from behind the counter.

The Doctor resisted the urge to clutch at his heart and bend double, which would surely cause more panic than he wanted to bring about.

"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"Sit down on this garden stool here. (It's on sale, you know.) Now, is it your head that's bothering you? Yes, it looks like it. I have a bottle of painkillers and you can have a pill or two, dear. They're in my car, I think. You just hold still." She walked off, still talking about how she would have also migraines as well, so she knew just how he felt.

_What a good heart, _he thought. He liked people with good hearts. In all his years he'd learn to spot one quickly.

The pain reached its climax, and then eased. He could tell the poison was definitely affecting him more.

A particular product on the counter caught his eye. A special formula for guaranteeing plant growth, including color and scent enhancers.

"Pete's Formulas" was the brand on a banner on the cans, with a picture of Pete Tyler smiling.

_Calm down. _Any parallel world could have Pete Tyler, or Jackie, or another Donna and Martha. Just because here was a world where Pete was a successful businessman did not mean it was the same one as Pete's world.

Anyway, forgetting that. If he was here in this world at all, the least he could do was to be here to help. He was always ready to help. Besides, it was the least he could do for a parallel world he had to seal off.

He took a broom and started sweeping dead flower petals and other miscellaneous things you'd find on a flower shop floor. As he always did, he worked quickly and diligently. Very soon he was working on other things. Buying new green paint, painting the outer walls, nailing back the sagging windowsill, – he started to wonder where the old lady was - and soon he was so wrapped up in his work that he wouldn't have noticed if she had come back (although, he certainly would have noticed if she had spoken to him or tried to give him the medicine).

So this was how he could not hear the door chime ring and a customer step in. He was repainting a cabinet full of gardening supplies, which was opposite the entrance, so his back was to the door.

"Is Mary the florist not here today, then?"

He straightened up immediately. His hearts' pace quickened even though it took his mind a moment longer to realize why.

Feminine. Cockney.

Rose Tyler.

Slowly he turned around, and as he did so he subconsciously reminded himself of the hurtful truth that she would not recognize him.

And there she was, in his eyes shining with all the glorious memories of the past, good old days. Her blonde hair was cropped much shorter than he had ever seen it. Her mascara was as thick as always.

"Is Mary ill?" she asked when she wasn't getting an answer. "I've been waiting here for a bit, and I don't really have all day. You're a handyman, then?" She nodded at the paintbrush in his hand.

The Doctor fought the tears that were trying to get to his eyes.

"Yes, I am a handyman. And I am quite handy, I think. I'm the - I'm here to help." Then he laughed a small, excited giggle, and at the same time seriously hoped she wouldn't catch on to his blunder. He almost called himself the Doctor, and he did not want to call himself John Smith. Rose was clever, and he didn't want her to figure out who he was. Not when he had to leave her again so soon anyway.

Rose laughed as well, never one to not be a good sport.

"Your hair is shorter. I mean, it's short," commented the Doctor accidentally.

"Okay…yes, it is short. Why? I don't have time to care for it like I used to. And you said it was 'shorter.'" Oh she was quick. "Have we met before?"

"No. Sorry. I just meant it looks nice. That's all."

"Okay, well thank you."

Now that he thought about it, she looked several years older. Just a bit older. It didn't affect her beauty or her how she looked – and even if it did, that wouldn't be what he minded. No, seeing his loved ones all grown up always got him. Seeing Sarah Jane Smith and Jo Grant in their golden years, and Amelia Pond go to Amy, it all got to his hearts and made him feel so terrible.

It was those times when he felt so old, so cursed.

"I'm ordering flowers for my wedding. Can you help me, or should I wait for Mary to come back?"

"I can help you; I can get you anything you'd like," answered the Doctor quickly, because, one, he really could and would love to help any Rose, and two, he wanted to know for sure. Was this his Rose?

His heart leapt. Her wedding?

"Just write down your name and requests in this form here. Then I'll let Mary know later."

So jotted down the time and location of the wedding – which was, of course, at the local church – and then, when writing her name, penned "Smith."

"That's not your maiden name, is it?" he asked without thinking (which was a change for the Doctor).

Rose looked at him quizzically, although not too impatiently. "Why, is it a problem?"

"No, no. It's just sometimes there are complications, and people get the wrong flowers or they end up getting sent elsewhere – the flowers, mind you, not the people; if people got shipped off to the wrong flowers it would be a disaster. It does happen in some places, you know" he ad-libbed.

Rose laughed. She was enjoying it.

He had loved how much she had enjoyed travelling with him.

She answered curiously, "Does it? Where?" She smiled - and oh, that smile. How he had missed it. It was like the sun peeking out on a cloudy day.

"Oh, far away, very far," he answered.

She hesitated. "You know, you're a bit…different."

"I know. Does it bother you?"

"No, not at all. I have a lot of experience with different people."

"Good."

Experience with different people? His Rose had a lot of experience with strange aliens and also, if he indeed was her fiancé, the Metacrisis would be strange.

"So it's your maiden name, is it?"

She stared at him, and then recollected herself. "Oh, no it isn't. It's my husband's last name. Sorry, it's just…you remind me of my fiancé. I don't know why. Maybe it's just you both know your stuff about exotic faraway places. I'm sorry, was I not supposed to write down his name? I've been doing that often recently. Maybe I'm just too excited that we're finally getting married."

The Doctor smiled at her, "No it's not a problem."

The Metacrisis _would_ call himself John Smith. The Doctor knew this because the Metacrisis was him.

Rose smiled and then turned back to the form she had to fill out. The Doctor watched her pause at "Flower Type(s)." Her eyes travelled to a chart taped to the counter which listed the flower prices for various circumstances and quantity.

Her eyes scanned the chart and stopped at the bottom, where prices for roses were listed. He watched this, and he could see the way she bit her lip.

"I'll maybe have a group of roses here and there." And the Doctor could see her dilemma. This shop was a tad overpriced, and roses were almost the priciest on the list. Ordering from a different store would have higher shipping fees anyway.

Usually, though, people would pay for roses. It was a wedding, after all, and a wedding was a special occasion. This must mean that this Rose was struggling financially.

Rose noticed that the Doctor realized her predicament. Blushing with embarrassment she kept shaking her head, and explained, "John and I are both unemployed. Well, I work at a shop, but it's not what I want to do, of course. But John doesn't want me to do what I want to do. I know it sounds harsh, but he's had some grudges on the…company. The company here has changed for the better as it has in other places, but John has some disagreements with it. John's unemployed, like I said, and he does a lot of work back in the garage of our home. Work, meaning like, inventions, sort of. He's trying to grow something."

"That's cool! Inventions are cool. So he's a bit of a freelancer, then?" He just had to keep this going. He wanted to know who this Rose was. He had the nagging suspicion that Meta-crisis John Smith was trying to grow his own TARDIS from the chunk that was given to him*.

"I know our lifestyle seems rugged," replied Rose, hurriedly. Her eyebrows were furrowed. "But we used to be doing just fine. Three years ago, when we first came to this small town, John found a job in a hospital. He couldn't stay though, for various complicated reasons. My dad is rich and he kindly bought our home for us. Then we had an argument and he's not exactly supporting us anymore. My mum also got involved in the argument, and for once she's on my dad's side. But I'm sure we'll see him at the wedding. My mum, I'm sure-I hope she's coming to see it."

She tucked beautiful hair behind her ear, which allowed the Doctor time to get everything straightened out in his head. His poor Rose was going through so much, for indeed, with all that was being said, he was sure: this was his Rose.

After he left Rose for the first time on the beach, she had gone and worked for Torchwood. After the second time, she must have taken Meta-crisis to get him a place in Torchwood. A Time Lord, even if only half so, would have great impact and would do well in a top-secret "company" like Torchwood.

If the Doctor knew anything of how he himself was before Rose made him a better Time Lord, then he knew that Metacrisis would not meet up with the "mercy" standards of the post-Captain –Jack-Harkness-reformation Torchwood. They would not want a warrior with a stone heart.

"I hope Dad is coming. I really do. John and I are finally deciding to spend our lives together, and I want him there with Mum at the wedding. It was much harder than I expected, getting together, John and I. He was rougher than I thought. No- I don't mean that he abused me. It's not that. It's just, he's wasn't…" she grimaced. "He wasn't the same guy I wanted him to be – oh it's so hard to explain."

The Doctor knew what she was trying to get at. "That's okay."

They both didn't get what they wanted that day on the beach; that day when he had to leave her with that other man. That other him.

"I almost," Rose continued, "wanted a break-up myself. John is conditioned for danger. In fact, when he left working for the hospital, after a while he suggested enlisting in the army. It was just when we were having one of our worst quarrels so I had to beg to keep him with me. I don't know if you understand how it is with couples, but even after we ended _that _initial argument, the idea continued to pop up in other arguments, and it was this year that we've both come to the conclusion that that's not happening. We were both streaming out tears of joy. I had never seen John cry. It was very emotional."

"That was at the beginning of the year. In February, in his proposal to me, he told me that I had softened him, molded him, and made him a better man. And I believed him, because I saw, and I continue to see that change. And now he is quite the man I wanted. Now it's June, and we're getting married, so I really do hope that my mum and dad are coming, especially my mum."

He was so glad, so relieved, that Metacrisis had finally become like him. Rose had done her magic on him.

_But he still won't work for Torchwood? _The Doctor was confused. Well, maybe, like himself, Metacrisis was proud and didn't want to install himself in a career in which he had past grudges against.

Rose had stopped speaking. Her eyes widened.

"Why did I even tell you all this? It's like I know you! But I don't! I don't even understand why- I-I don't even know your name."

"It's Matt Smith," he said quickly, mentally bashing himself for not thinking of a last name other than Smith. "Smith! Just like your husband! It is rather common, isn't it? And that's okay, I won't tell anyone," he reassured her.

Still, she kept looking at him in disbelief.

"It's like I know you," she repeated quietly. Then she shook her head. "Do a lot of people gush out their life story to you like this?"

"Yes, many people do. I wonder why? You would not believe the secrets I carry."

Rose gasped, glanced down at her watch, and gasped again. "Oh my! I've got to run. I can't believe I've been here so long."

She picked up her bag and dashed to the door. She stopped for a moment.

"Goodbye, Matt."

Then she was gone.

* * *

**Yes, I know. ****_Matt Smith._**** But seriously, I couldn't think of another name the Doctor would call himself besides John Smith, so since the Doctor looks like Matt (duh), I decided to call him Matt. **

**I'm sure it was all very predictable, and I'm fine with that. And I know it's very improbable that Rose would spill out her life story to a complete stranger. **

**I appreciate reviews and criticisms. Thank you.**

**Allons-y! **

**AvengerGal**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we are with chapter 3. Thank you to all my readers, followers, favoriters, and my reviewer. **

* * *

The Doctor cried for a bit. But only for a bit, because he wasn't just sad, he was very thrilled. Overjoyed by meeting Rose again, he couldn't help but beam like a little kid.

When he was done, he sat on the garden chair –the one on sale – and thought about Rose, what she had said, and the previous surprising series of events leading to this point. Absentmindedly he let teardrops from his aforementioned cry roll off his face and onto his trousers.

_Thank you, Sexy. My TARDIS. You brought me where I needed to be, as you always do. It was no coincidence at all. _

"My good old girl," he said it out loud.

Wiping away his tears, he stood up and finished painting the cabinet. Just when he finished his job and put away all the paint supplies and tools, and cleared off and thrown away all the plastic protecting the floor from paint splatter, and had down the same with all the tape on the wall around the cabinet, Mary the florist walked in.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked, smiling. "I've just come in from my lunch break. I went out with my friends. Do you know Darlene? She's my friend from out of town, but she's come here quite often. Loves the bread here. No, now you wouldn't know her, you're new here aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I like it here. It's small, but it's not boring. What's this town called?"

"Laudesworth. Yes, that must be why I've never seen you before. Now how can I help you?"

The good old heart was going senile. She had forgotten the head medicine. The Doctor did have his suspicions. She needed to retire, and he could tell she was an old maid.

"Oh, I don't need -," the Doctor started, but then stopped when he realized that Rose had never finished filling out the ordering form.

Actually, the only thing she had left out was the type of flowers. Suddenly, the prospect of being able to help Rose one last time overwhelmed him.

"Well, I just need to finish filling out this form here," said the Doctor. He scribbled down "rose", "red", wrote down the quantity, and also added some other flower types to go with it, and their quantities.

"Hold on, I seemed to have misplaced my money."

He ran to the TARDIS, flew to the nearest bank, and returned as quickly as possible.

When he rushed back in with a paper bag full of money, she had the ordering form in one hand, and what seemed to be a schedule in the other.

"Are you 'Smith'?" she asked slowly.

"Yes, my name is Matt Smith," answered the Doctor with a smile.

"And this is for the wedding next week? On this date written here? The date that the flowers are supposed to arrive at the church?"

"That is correct."

"Is that not Rose Tyler's wedding on that day? I thought the church did only one wedding per day!"

"It is Rose Tyler's wedding on that day. Isn't it splendid! I looked at the clouds and I tasted the air, and I am predicting a beautiful cloudless day. Ah, the bride of June!" he laughed, eyes gleaming.

"Is the wedding going to be outside?" he continued. "I do love outdoor weddings, especially on cloudless days, although there is a place far, far away where they love weddings on rainy days. They think it brings good luck."

(There was a field behind the church which was often used for outdoor weddings. The Doctor noticed this in his quick survey of the area around the flower shop, as the flower shop was close to the church.)

"Oh! For a second there I thought you were getting married to Rose, instead of John Smith. Do you know, I'm invited, too? I think it's because they like my pies so much. Even if it was only that, I don't mind so much. They are a very pleasant couple. They are truly made for each other," said Mary kindly.

"That's very good to hear." It really was. All this made him feel like departing with her on the beach for the second time, with Meta-crisis, had not crushed his hearts in vain.

Giving his thanks, and resting his hands on Mary's shoulders so he could kiss the air on both sides of her head, he left the store, and went around it to the back, where his TARDIS was faithfully waiting for him in tree-form.

As he was looking for the right nob of the tree which he could press to open the door, he heard Mary step out in the front and water the array of flower on display. Then he heard running footsteps, and then Rose, breathing heavily, exclaimed:

"Hello Mrs. Woodsy, I forgot to finish filling out the form, I need to pick my flower type. Do you still have the form? It's under the name 'Smith.'"

Mary Woodsy laughed. "Oh, that! You know, Matt Smith told me that was his form! I almost started to believe you were marrying him, not John!" She laughed again. "But he paid for everything. You have nothing to worry about."

He could almost see Rose's eyes widen.

"He paid – Where is he?  
"He just left, but I thought I heard footsteps going behind the shop. Maybe he has a bike parked there. He _just _left right now, and I didn't hear a bike or him walking away. But my hearing's not what it used to be, and no matter how thin the walls of this shop are – my! The walls are freshly painted!"

The old lady was left to exclaim over the freshly painted walls (she would gradually discover all the little things the Doctor did for her, including give her enough money to retire comfortably), because Rose was gone in a flash to the back of the shop. The Doctor only had time to hide behind the tree, which Rose saw him doing.

"Excuse me! Mr. Smith!"

Slowly, the Doctor slinked into view of Rose.

"I'm – I'm going to go right back in there, and I'm going to cancel that order," declared Rose. "Because you didn't need to do that."

The Doctor stared at Rose with his old, kind eyes.

"I felt like I did need to do it."

She stared back at him, mouth open.

Her mouth closed, then opened again, then closed. Tears sprung to her eyes.

The Doctor looked at her and smiled.

"You've been through so much. More than a lot of people know. I think it was the least I could do for you, Rose."

Rose sniffled.

"It was the kindest thing anyone has done for me, all week," she said. "You don't know what this means to me. I – I feel like my worries are melting away."

She sobbed.

The Doctor hugged her. Internally, he was burning from the fact that he was touching her again.

"Thank you, thank you so much. What can I ever do to thank you?" Her crying had died down, and she let out one of those slow, shaky breaths. She had overreacted, but that was expected when how much stress she went through weekly.

The Doctor thought, and hesitated.

"Remember, I'm just here to help. But there is one thing…"

"Yes?"

"May I attend your wedding?"

"What?"

"May I please come to your wedding?"

"I heard you…I didn't know what to expect, and I certainly didn't expect this."

"Please, I haven't been to a wedding since I went to my own, and that was ages ago, and technically didn't happen, and I will just sit in the back, unnoticed, I won't eat anything unless there are jammie dodgers, and I won't stay at the reception except to dance."

Rose thought.

"Um, I guess that's the most I can do in return for you. I…I don't know what John will think, but I'm sure you can come as a guest of the bride."

The Doctor gave a wide grin, and Rose had to smile back.

"Thank you! Geronimo! I'm going to Rose's wedding!" he cheered.

_Geronimo, _the Doctor saw Rose mouth, while still laughing with him. Then she stopped.

"Hold on, you called me Rose – twice now. And I've never told you my name. How do you know my name?"

Whoops.

"You did tell me your name. Earlier, when you were filling out the form."

She blinked. "Oh."

There was a pause.

"Well, now I really have to go. I promised to help decorate for a new special sale at the shop I work at. Thank you so much, again. I'll see you at my wedding then? You know the time, right?"

"I'm delivering the flowers in the morning. I can be there, waiting all day if I have to."

Rose told him the exact time, they said their goodbyes, and she left.

Finally finding the correct tree nob, the Doctor waited for Rose to be completely out of hearing range before flying the TARDIS away into Outer Space of the parallel world.

There he was, suspended in space, looking out over the earth.

Finally, everything was good. He could at least see his Rose get married, and live a good life, which was the foremost thing he had ever hoped for her. A good life.


	4. Chapter 4

In the space of the week that he had to wait for Rose's wedding, the Doctor became the little town's mascot of help. In the residential area of the town, he installed recycling bins, and connected the town to the larger neighboring town's recycling program.

The Doctor also improved the Police Station's technology with a prodding and a few sweeps by his sonic screwdriver. Then, he gave the police a couple of tips which he stole from the future police systems. Astonished by the Doctor's ingenuity, the police asked him if he would give a safety speech at the next town hall safety watch meeting.

"When is it?" the Doctor asked.

"Next month," replied the police.

"Sorry fellas, I can't stay that long." After that, the Doctor was more careful of his influence on the town his dear Rose dwelt in. He did simple things, like repainting, trimming hedges, plumbing, serving at a diner.

Everyone grew to know and love the Doctor, this "Matt Smith" who had appeared from out of nowhere. Nobody knew where he came from, where he was going, and when he would go.

He often saw Rose here and there, and he usually avoided her. There was one time, when he was serving at the local diner, and Rose stepped in with Meta-crisis.

"So I was telling her _not _to bring her friends, because I don't know them, and even worse – oh! Hello! It's you again!" she exclaimed, spotting the Doctor, who was failing at hiding behind a mop.

"John, I want you to meet Matt Smith. He's the fella who I told you about, who generously paid for the flowers."

"Ah," said John Smith. "Yes, thank you very much. We really appreciate it. I'm John, John Smith." He held out his hand.

"It was my utmost pleasure. Nice to meet you," the Doctor replied. He shook John's hand.

"I thought you were a handyman," commented Rose with a curious smile.

"I am a handy man," responded the Doctor. "And now I'm being handy at a diner."

At nights, he stayed up, sitting at the edge of the TARDIS, watching the earth below. Sometimes it hit him, the reality that he would have to leave Rose again. The Doctor would be sure to not let Rose figure out who he was. It would just hurt that she knew when he had to leave so soon again.

She was more mature now, more responsible-adult-like. She had left her child days and had grown up with all the realities of life on her shoulders.

_You never want to grow up_, thought the Doctor. _No, no, no._

The week passed by more quickly than he could have thought possible when being in the same place for a whole week with time in its correct order.

Throughout the week, his spurts of pain in his hearts grew more frequent, more painful, and now right heart hurt as well as the left.

The dawn of the day of the wedding drew its warm arms around him and reeled him onto earth. He rushed to the flower shop and used his psychic paper to gain permission to deliver the flowers himself.

After driving them there, he unloaded the flowers. And then he waited for the wedding to start, helping the time to pass by assisting in decorations and in setting up. As he helped John Smith move a heavy bench outdoors (for it was indeed an outdoor wedding - the reader may presume the Doctor was giddy with delight), he discovered that John had truly changed from his mercilessness. John had the Doctor's old body's typical cheery, light façade as he should, with a twinge of sass that made his hearts break. Also, the way he talked reminded him so much of his old form, that it felt wrong and he didn't want to stay with John for more than he had to, but at the same time, in weird contradiction, he enjoyed his company, the same way he enjoyed Donna's.

Finally, the ceremony. There weren't too many people invited. Rose did not have family on this world besides her mum and dad – they had both shown up with young Tony –, and John Smith had none. However, Rose invited ten or eleven friends, the Doctor ten more, and then there was Mary, and some other elderly ladies. And there was him.

It seemed like eternity, but finally the music started to play, and the Doctor eagerly turned to see the bride.

The bride was a white swan, gliding slowly and gracefully across the pond which was the aisle. Under the shade of the canopy she was a phantom. The sunlight that passed through the canopy caused her to glimmer like she was covered in water. The scent of the roses decorating the ceremony underlined the beauty with their wonderful perfume.

John Smith turned and stared at his beautiful wife. The Doctor knew exactly what he was thinking. He knew that John couldn't believe his luck. He knew that John was thrilling that he and Rose would spend their lives together. He knew it, because John was him, and he was John.

John took Rose's hand. Her eyes were shining up at him.

"I do."

He leaned in.

His lips touched hers.

And suddenly, the Doctor was kissing Rose again in the hospital of New Earth. Again he looked up to see Rose run in through the open TARDIS doors and fling her arms around him after his treacherous journey into the Satan Pit. Again Rose Tyler walked out of the TARDIS, her head filled with the vortex, just to save him.

He was dancing with Rose Tyler around the console, Glenn Miller in his ears. She was hopping behind him onto his motorbike, hair up, dressed in pink, telling him there was no other way to go than with him. Dazzlingly her smile sparkled up at him, her eyes twinkling also. She was telling him how much he loved travelling with him. They were lying down on the apple grass.

They were running towards each other. Reunited they embraced as if they'd never let go. He had her in his arms again, again, again. The Doctor and Rose. Rose and the Doctor. Forever and ever, they were together, for all space and time. He was there. Back in time, another man.

Then white light. His hearts burned. Rose fell away from him. There was just a blank wall. Two worlds were shut off from each other, and he was still in the wrong one.

In agony he screamed, mouth open, but no sound came out. He clutched at his chest. His eyes were squeezed shut.

When he recovered, he found that nobody had seen his pain. They were too caught up in the bride that was standing facing them, holding John's hand, beaming like her face was the sun.

That was okay. He was relieved that he hadn't ruined Rose's wedding. Through his illusions he had not screamed, fainted, or let out that he was in pain, except the few tears that could be disguised as happiness.

This was not good. Not good at all. It was the third time today, being struck with pain, and this time was more painful than the other times.

He had to move on.

The reception was fantastic. All he did was dance. He danced and danced until he was completely breathless. Then he danced some more.

He didn't eat, as the poisoning in his system made him feel sick. There were no jammie dodgers anyway, and the Doctor was happy nonetheless.

With a jolt, he noticed someone he hadn't noticed earlier.

Captain Jack Harkness was dancing with one of Mary's elderly friends.

Captain. Jack. Harkness.

The Doctor's eyebrows lifted. Captain Jack caught the Doctor's stare.

"Hello," he said above the loud music, raising his eyebrows as well, but in a different way.

The Doctor did not know what to think.

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**Captain Jack's hello speaks many unspoken words.**

**Thank you to my reviewer, my followers, my favoriters. God bless you all.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews please. Drop your complaints in the comment box below.**

**And to God be the glory,**

**AvengerGal**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to Ablissa for her wonderful review. God bless.**

**Poem is mine.**

* * *

Soon the song ended, and Captain Jack approached the Doctor.

"Fancy meeting me here," he greeted.

"Fancy that," replied the Doctor calmly. "Then you know me, and who I am."

"Yes I do."

"You weren't at the ceremony earlier, which means you weren't invited; therefore I conclude that you're here for a reason, and you used a vortex manipulator."

"Good deducting, Sherlock."

"I am correct then?" The Doctor was serious.

"Yup," he replied, popping the "p".

"Where are you from?"

"Earth," he joshed with half-hearted sarcasm. "No, I know what you mean, and I'm not from this earth. You aren't either."

"No," replied the Doctor, staring at Rose, who was dancing with John at the other side of the space under the canopy. "I'm not."

Captain Jack Harkness followed his gaze.

"So I've seen. And I don't think either of us wants to be found out. Let's step outside of the canopy."

They made their way out. There they resumed conversation.

"I know it hurt, Doctor, but I didn't think you would threaten the safety of the worlds to see her again."

"I know it looks bad, but I didn't choose to be here, and I'm going to seal off this world tonight."

"Oh."

Then Jack continued, "Tonight then? Okay, because that's really all the time you've got before the universe is going to feel the effects of what's happened. Well, good luck with that." He put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder, and the Doctor knew: Jack felt sorry for him.

Then Captain Jack explained, "See, Torchwood on our Earth discovered that a crack in reality had been opened, and void stuff exposed. We narrowed it down until we found the cause, and you have to believe me when I say: it really seemed like you did it."

The Doctor nodded.

"I'm sure it did."

"So I was asked to be the one to be flung by the inter-dimensional canon into this world. It's kind of like Rose's inter-dimensional canon, except a lot smaller. In fact, I have it on my wrist here. You thought it was vortex manipulator. It only looks like it. I am the first person in all time to use this baby. Of course, it's because of my…special condition that they let me take the risk."

The Doctor smiled.

"I arrived here – I died twice, but I got here. I came to stop you and warn you and to tell you to get out or I'll seal you in myself. It turns out I didn't need to…It was hard to find you, especially because I've never seen you before in person. Torchwood has only a blurry picture of you, which is surprising. I finally located you at this party – parallel worlds are difficult to do. Then once I was here, I had to dance around a bit before I found you, but soon it was apparent – only you would dance like that."

"You don't think I dance well?"

"Well, I've seen better dancing. But I like this regeneration. It's kind of goofy."

"Thank you," said the Doctor.

"Nice bowtie. It's cool. You're kind of nerdy-hipster, aren't you?"

"Not now please – although bowties are indeed cool."

"I can't even compliment you," sighed Captain Jack Harkness.

"Now," said the Doctor, ignoring this. "I'm not sure what caused the void, but I think…I think it was my TARDIS. She opened it up for me." He looked distant. He felt distant.

"Now why would she do that?"

"I don't know exactly, but I think…" he trailed off. Well, Captain Jack was the only one who could sympathize with what was happening to him. He decided to tell someone for the first time.

"I think it's because she knows I'm dying. And she took me to see _her _one last time."

Captain Jack Harkness looked down and nodded. Then looking back up at the Doctor, he said,

"The TARDIS is a good gal, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is."

Captain Jack smiled.

"Good luck, Doctor." He was talking about the Doctor's regeneration.

"Thank you." The Doctor understood.

"I guess this is goodbye, now," said Captain Jack. "Feels like goodbye."

"I guess it is."

Captain Jack hesitated.

"Doctor…I just found out…I just found out I'm the Face of Boe."

A joking smile was plastered onto his face, but his appearance was noticeably blanched. It was a horrible moment for the Doctor, having to look at Captain Jack. He was sure that inside Captain Jack was darkness and desperation.

"I know," the Doctor replied. "Hey, I like the Face of Boe. And I think it's safe to say that it turns out alright. In the end."

They stood there in silence for a while, both thinking. The Doctor really didn't know what to say, although he knew what Jack Harkness felt like. The music of the reception was contrarily loud and upbeat.

Unexpectedly, Jack burst out laughing.

"You mean I'm going to die! You've seen it!"

"Jack, I'm sor-."

"No, it does turn out alright, then. There is an end. I'm taking your word for it. See you around, Doctor." He saluted the Doctor.

One of those things that didn't need to be revealed, maybe once, once in a strange blue moon, it was okay.

The Doctor nodded gravely and gave a small smile. Captain Jack pressed a few buttons on his inter-dimensional cannon and just before he disappeared, his visage flashed quickly into a sad one that is only caused by longevity and sorrow, which the Doctor knew all too well, and then instantly he looked like himself again.

Quickly he vanished, leaving the Doctor standing alone. Or so he thought.

"That was Captain Jack Harkness!" shouted Rose from behind him. He spun around.

"Hello, Rose."

"That was Captain Jack Harkness!" repeated Rose, gaping. "And it's you! My gosh, it's you!" She approached him.

"It's who?" he asked, although there was no point in denying it.

"Don't do that. Do even deny it. I heard him call you the Doctor just now. And your actions prove it. You're so wonderful," – she said it as a fact – "and it's always been like I know you, but at the same time you're such a mystery! Oh gosh, I knew it was you, yet I didn't. You said, at the flower shop, that my hair is 'shorter.' Hold on, you also said you were married." – luckily another incident popped into Rose's mind, and for the moment she forgot about this – "Also, you called me Rose! I definitely did not tell you my name."

She paused, and then shook her head. "You changed. You've changed again. It's you."

The Doctor submitted.

"Rose Smith," he said sweetly. "Rose Tyler. You've always been so quick. I'm sorry. I didn't plan on coming here. But since I landed in this parallel world I wanted to see you and make sure you were happy before I seal off this world. Again."

Tears swam in Rose's eyes. "I can't believe you're here. You came to my wedding."

A tear rolled down her cheek. John Smith walked up to them.

"What's going on?" He looked at Rose, concerned.

"Do you have to go soon, then?" Rose asked.

The sun had started to set.

"What is this?" asked John again.

"I do. I have to go tonight," said the Doctor to Rose.

Rose took a deep breath.

"Can't you at least…stay for tea?"

"Maybe."

"Because I need to thank you before you leave. I'm never going to see you again for real after this, aren't I?"

Abruptly, the Doctor fell to the ground on his bottom.

The pain had never been this bad before. It was excruciating. One hand grasped at his chest. The other clenched at the grass in agony.

And it was clear to the company what was happening at that moment. The poison had done its good work; the deed was done. The Doctor's hands were glowing yellow.

The Doctor, panting heavily, straining to get the words out, looked up at the other two.

"Help me. Please."

So Rose and John each took the Doctor's arms, and each put one arm around their shoulders.

He gasped, "Mary's flower shop." It was good that, as mentioned earlier, the church was close to the flower shop. They got there, and he directed them behind the church. The stopped in front of the tree, which, Rose and the Doctor did not know, was the TARDIS.

He put a hand on it to lean on it, and gritting his teeth, turned to them.

"John Smith look after Rose Tyler. – _ungh - _You want as much as I do for her to be the happiest person in all the universes. Make it happen for her."

"Rose do this for me. You never, _ever, _leave my hearts. And now that you know it's me, I can't bear to have you see me be the one to leave you again. So I want you to leave right now," he gasped, with resolution.

"No. Don't be ridiculous."

"Rose, please."

"Then at least let me say this!" shouted Rose. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You gave me such a big vision of what I could do in the world. As you have seen, I am so happy here. And I have you to thank, for giving me John. And I have you to thank for all the amazing times we had together. And those days are over, but I want you to know, that I will never, ever forget you." She took John's hand, crying.

The Doctor nodded, and now he was crying, too. It had all built up for him. The emotional pain, and the physical pain.

John Smith squeezed Rose's hand.

"Good luck," he told the Doctor. He led Rose away. They walked slowly.

The Doctor turned, pressed the nob, and practically dragged himself inside. He set space-time coordinates on the console, and set something so that the void was automatically sealed shut.

Then he stopped.

It was happening.

He made himself stand straight. He could barely see his eyes so blurred with tears.

_Here I go,_

_Geronimo._

_I might like it or no,_

_But I must go._

_The new must come,_

_The young must go,_

_And even if new,_

_He is still worn._

_Here I go,_

_Geronimo._

Here he was, alone in the TARDIS, about to die. Yes, here came that golden glow, which filled his vision.

Then, he could see…someone. It was a woman, slowly appearing from above, through the golden energy of restoration.

The face of the TARDIS smiled gently down upon him.

"You weren't ever alone," she said softly.

The Doctor stared at her, unable to speak, unable to move. The TARDIS was crying with him, as the TARDIS always did. But still she had that reassuring smile.

She leaned down and kissed his forehead. When she was done, she looked at him and smiled again.

"Geronimo," she whispered.

Then she faded, and again all he could see was shimmering gold.

Thus, his medicine had been given to him; he felt healed inside. The TARDIS had soothed his aching soul – his encounter with Rose was actually just what he needed. A douse of hope, a conclusion and an ending to his story with Rose – the finality that she was content. Seeing her was his good medicine, and his TARDIS had known it. And now she had appeared to make him understand that he was not alone.

For the first time, he put his arms in regeneration stance for himself. This was his ultimate "take it all" moment. Nothing could hurt him now. This was his good ending, and there was no stopping him.

The regeneration started. His arms, his head, his legs, became columns of fire. The old Time Lord burned away. Bits of the console exploded, causing the TARDIS to whir into action.

It started to leave earth.

Meanwhile, outside, Rose and John were walking away. They heard the sound of the TARDIS breaks being left on.

Rose whipped around, pulled herself from John, and ran back. John ran after her.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor's regeneration caused the chameleon circuit to break.

So when Rose came, her hair flying in the wind of the departing TARDIS, she saw the blue police box disappearing for the last time without her.

The TARDIS windows shattered. One piece did not vanish with the rest along with the TARDIS, and it fell at Rose's feet. John got to Rose's side, just as Rose picked the glass shard up.

She kept it.

Inside was a glory of bright light. The TARDIS spun into the Outer Space of The Earth.

There is no sound in space. A viewer would simply see a small blue box, windows shattered, and a bright yellow glow radiating from within.

And then the glowing stopped.

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_**.**_

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**_In the end, no matter how much I ship my OTP, River/Eleven, no matter how cute I think Rose and Ten are, no matter how much I love how worked up and excited the Doctor was about Clara's impossibility, it is always his love for the TARDIS that stands out to me. It is the affection that's always there. It is the Doctor's only companion who could live on with him forever. It is the only romance that prevails through all his troubles, and I must say, I think it is the most wonderful romance as well._**

**_Stay tuned for the last chapter._**

**_And to God be the glory,_**

**_AvengerGal_**


	6. Chapter 6

_Somewhere, far away, the Oods continued to sing the Doctor's song._

* * *

_Clara, as she always did, waited downstairs for the TARDIS to appear, watching the doorbell monitor screen. She was slightly surprised to see a strange man stumble out of the TARDIS, but then the Doctor was always full of surprises._

_Clara flung open the door and smiled at the tall gray-haired man. She asked him who he was, and why he came with the Doctor, and where they were going. The man smiled._

_"Follow me."_

_Clara obeyed and followed him into the TARDIS._

_Inside, it was as she had never seen it before. The interior was completely different. It was brighter, with spinning contraptions on the ceiling and what seemed like roots interlining the walls. The console glowed faintly with its own light. _

_Then Clara saw, placed on a chair on the TARDIS, the Doctor's familiar clothes. They were tattered and ragged. Fallen onto the floor next to the chair was a bowtie, burned at the tips. _

_Perplexed and apprehensive, she questioned him: Who was he? Where was the Doctor? What did he do with him?_

_It took a while for the man to convince Clara of his identity as the Doctor. When she did believe him, Clara realized that the TARDIS and the Doctor, though the former was different on the inside, and the latter different on the outside, were still one and the same._

_The past chapter had ended, the new chapter begun._

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**_El Fine._**

**_Well, that's it, everyone. Thank you to Ablissa for reviewing and sticking to this story until the end. Please read her stories and giver her support as she has done for me. _**

**_And to God be the glory,_**

**_AvengerGal_**


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